


Definitely Totally Not Falling in Love

by daeneryssed



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: AU because I wanted something cute and lighthearted, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Light-Hearted, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-26
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22419937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daeneryssed/pseuds/daeneryssed
Summary: Jester just wanted to find a normal housemate.A cute Zemnian was way more than that.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Comments: 16
Kudos: 128





	Definitely Totally Not Falling in Love

**Author's Note:**

> So I was writing another in-universe Widojest fic and it just got so angsty?? So I wanted to write something cute and fun to balance it out. 
> 
> In the meantime, enjoyyyy. None of my fics are beta-ed so all errors are mine.

Jester made sure the door was firmly closed before leaning back against it, head banging lightly on the white wood, and sliding down to the floor with a tired sigh. That had been the third person today to answer her ad for a housemate – the tenth one that week – and as with the people before, it had been a total disaster.

The woman that had just departed looked like she would be a total slob: her hair had been unkempt, her nails long and unclipped (Jester had winced at the sharp sting of her fingernails when they shook hands) and there had been a damp, mouldy smell to her clothes. Unrelated to her living habits but a key consideration all the same, her voice had been _extremely_ high-pitched. She had basically screamed out each of her words.

Maruo wasn’t the worst one either. Jester had been visited by a crazed professor, a fortune teller who looked like a hag out of her childhood nightmares and an old lady with five yapping dogs who (while cute) were clearly too much for Jester’s tiny apartment, amongst other equally dubious candidates.

All she wanted was a normal person. Was that really too much to ask for? 

The trill of the doorbell sounded through the apartment.

Jester groaned.

She had half a mind to ignore it. She could live alone. She could find a part-time job that would help pay the rent for the apartment. It was _totally_ doable. And, well, if things got really bad, her momma would always be there for her, even if it would _really_ suck that Jester hadn’t been able to support herself through this.

The bell rung again, followed by a knock on the door and a voice that called out.

“Hello?”

Jester’s head shot up, interest piqued. There were two things about the voice that gave her some pause: one, it was a _male_ , and two, it had a distinct Zemnian accent.

She had never met a _Zemnian_ before.

Picking herself up from the ground, she brushed down her skirts quickly, tidied her hair where it was frazzled at the back, and swung open the door.

In front of her stood a young man, older than her probably and definitely taller, with long red hair tied back in a ponytail and bright blue eyes. Really blue. So blue that Jester found herself staring into them unabashedly.

He was _really_ handsome too.

“Hi,” she said, a flirty tone automatically making its way into her greeting. She cringed. That was probably too much for a complete stranger at her door. Jester cleared her throat and tried again, “Hello.” That sounded much more normal. “Can I help you?”

A pink blush coloured the man’s pale cheeks, making his cheekbones even more prominent. He cleared his throat as well. “Hi. I, er, saw your ad for a room. Are you Miss Jester?”

“Oh,” Jester said, the answer unexpected although it made the most sense now that she thought about it, “the room.”

The man’s blush deepened. “I- I know you are looking for a female roommate but I was just, er, wondering if perhaps you might consider a male tenant as well? Just let me know if you’re not interested though. I would be happy to leave.”

His voice drawled low with the Zemnian accent and his shoulders hunched inwards in an apologetic shrug. He looked so sheepish and embarrassed and utterly _cute_ that Jester found herself replying before she could think through her words, “Oh no! That is no problem at all. I would be happy to let you see the room!”

As if on auto-pilot, she stepped to the side and waved him into the house.

Beau was going to kill her.

The man stepped hesitantly past the threshold, brown boots sounding firm thuds along the uncarpeted floor. Shooting a quick glance at her bare feet, he immediately scrambled to take off his shoes. Jester stifled a giggle. Although the man towered over her short stature, there was something diminutive about the way he carried himself. It made Jester want to take care of him.

“What’s your name?”

“Oh, right, I apologise. My name is Caleb Widogast.” She shook the hand that he offered her. He shrugged his coat off and slung it over his arm before continuing, “I work at the University of Zadash. I’m a researcher.”

“Oh! Nice. That’s not too close though?”

“Ja, it’s true. I couldn’t secure accommodation closer to campus because there was a mix-up so I’m trying to look for a place off-campus now. This room was reasonably priced and a close friend of mine works nearby so I thought I would give it a shot.”

Jester nodded along, only half paying attention, because she was distracted by the little cleft in his chin. She wanted to squeeze it between her fingers.

That would _definitely_ be too much for a stranger.

“Right, well, this place is _amazing_. I will take you for the grand tour.” She closed the door behind them and led him further in. Not that there was much to go through. The door opened directly into the living room and right next to the open kitchen. Across the room were three doors leading to each of the bedrooms and a small common toilet.

“There’s this fantastic kitchen,” she declared with a grandiose sweep of the arm across the cluttered countertops and fridge drowning in magnets. “Then the living room”- she gestured towards the equally messy living room with its plush sofas, small dining table off to one side and a decently-sized television -“and we have the two bedrooms here and the toilet that you will be using. Mine has an en suite.”

Caleb had a small, amused smile the whole time he surveyed the place. With his coat off, it was clear he was lanky rather than buff, given the lack of rippling arm muscles underneath his long sleeves. That was okay. Jester didn’t have A Type, even if Beau insisted she did.

“It’s, uh, small I _know_ but the bedrooms are decently-sized!” She threw open the door to his room and skipped in. It was sparsely decorated with a single bed, a study table, a wardrobe and two book-shelves. “You can even fit a bit more shelves at the side if you want to. You know, put research stuff or like whatever there.”

She couldn’t see his expression as he walked past her and looked around the room. There was nothing in his body language that she could read either. Jester felt her heart sink a little. He probably thought it was way too small.

“You are having trouble finding a taker?” asked Caleb.

Jester scratched her neck. She didn’t want to sound like nobody wanted the room. “Ya, but it’s not the room, you know, it’s because they were all _weird_.”

“Weird?” Caleb faced her now, blue eyes curious. “How so?”

“Like there was this really creepy woman that just talked about how she could teach me any lesson I wanted if I wanted to learn from her. I don’t know if she was coming onto me or just being really enthusiastic about…teaching? I guess? Then this lawyer who I thought, wow, lawyer, must be great right? But no, she started talking about how she shut down this circus and threw these people in jail and it sounded like she really _enjoyed_ throwing people in jail and that just felt off? Then there was this old lady that wanted to bring like FIVE dogs. Where would they even fit? I like dogs but pets are probably a big no-no because there’s not a lot of space.”

“Oh, no pets?”

Jester’s mouth clamped shut. She had started rambling again which Beau had warned her against. “Sorry?”

Caleb looked a little put out. “You don’t allow pets?”

Jester hesitated. She absolutely loved animals and would have a hundred pets if she could. The sad truth, however, was that there simply was no space for them in her modest little abode. Still…he clearly wanted a pet of some sort and if he was asking he might still be interested in the place after all and-

“I can totally allow pets, ha ha!” Jester quickly said, waving her hands like it was no big deal. “I mean, they aren’t like five dogs right? And you aren’t an old lady at all so I’m sure you can take _much_ better care. I think.”

Caleb nodded quickly. “Just the one cat. I rescued her just a few weeks ago and she’s only a kitten. She would not cause any trouble.”

Jester’s heart melted. A man who rescued kittens?

He. Was. Perfect.

“So...are you interested?” she asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.

He did a 360-degree slow turn around the room again, eyes scanning the walls and head peeking out the window to the street below. “I mean, just a look at the toilet to make sure everything works, and uh, maybe a look at the tenancy agreement too. But other than that?” He smiled at her and Jester’s heart skipped a beat. Maybe two beats. “I would love to take the room if you will have me.”

“I will have you!” Jester screeched before she could stop herself. He looked taken aback by her enthusiasm but she couldn’t find it in herself to care too much.

She had found a roommate!

A cute one!

A cute, Zemnian one!

A very cute, Zemnian-

“MAN?” Beau groaned with her head in her hands. Yasha patted her shoulder sympathetically. “ _Jessie_ , I told you to get a girl.”

“Beau, I can take care of myself,” Jester reassured her, patting the other shoulder. “He seems like a very decent person as well. He won’t do anything weird or anything.”

“Jester _is_ really strong,” Yasha said, earning a beaming smile from Jester for her support. 

“It’s not _that_. Well, a bit of that. It’s just...it sounds like you are already crushing over this man. You’re going to be around him every day and I just don’t want your heart broken again.”

Jester tried not to think about the circumstances leading to her sudden need for a new roommate. Fjord was firmly in the past and she was perfectly fine. It was fine.

“I won’t fall in love with him, Beau,” she said, firmly enough that she believed herself. “Just because I find him handsome doesn’t mean that I am going to, you _know_ , form _romantic feelings_. I know better now.”

Jester thought of Caleb’s sharp jaw, awkward smile and piercing blue eyes. She smiled to herself.

“I know _way_ better now.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed it! Comments and kudos are always very much appreciated.
> 
> I may or may not write more in this series. I hope to!


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